German mothers earn 30,000 euros less than women without children, study shows

The loss of income for women after the birth of their first child is significantly greater in Germany than previously assumed, according to a study by the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research ZEW seen by Reuters on Friday.

In the fourth year after giving birth, mothers earn on average almost 30,000 euros ($35,000) less than women of the same age without children, according to the study done together with the Netherlands' Tilburg University.

Previous estimates had been around 20,000 euros.

MORE CHALLENGING FOR WOMEN UNDER 30

The losses develop differently depending on how old a woman is when she first gives birth, according to the study conducted among 186,000 mothers.

If women become mothers for the first time under the age of 30, apart from income losses, they also miss important career steps in the particularly formative early phase of their working life, said study co-author Lukas Riedel.

Women who have children at a later point have already gone through this phase, which often involves high wage growth, and have established themselves in the labour market, the researchers said.

As a result, they do record stronger absolute declines in income levels, for example due to reduced working hours.

"In the long term, however, they find it easier to resume their careers after giving birth," said Riedel.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)